January, 23 2018, 06:45am EDT
President Trump's Tariffs Put US Jobs, Solar Industry at Risk
Statement by John Rogers, Senior Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump today imposed tariffs on imported solar panel materials that are key to America's booming solar industry. These duties, intended as barriers to benefit U.S. solar panel manufacturers, will hurt America's renewable energy market.
Below is a statement by John Rogers, senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"There's widespread opposition to solar tariffs across the political and economic spectrum. This issue has united conservatives and liberals unlike anything else I've seen during Mr. Trump's presidency. Sadly, his decision today burdens states with greater economic costs and attempts to derail clean energy progress.
"President Trump says his intention is to save jobs, but the specifics show this decision is a job killer. The first year of tariffs is high enough to blunt the growth of solar energy in the U.S. and hurt domestic solar jobs, but the package is not nearly enough to give U.S. solar panel manufacturers the ill-conceived walls of protectionism they were looking for.
"Tens of thousands of jobs in the solar sector could be stamped out, and it could hurt momentum at a time when we need to massively ramp up clean energy to reduce carbon emissions. It's clear this administration has no interest in reducing U.S. emissions. The states are going to have to pick up the slack by strengthening regional policies."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
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A multinational survey commissioned by Greenpeace International and published Monday revealed that a majority of respondents favor making fossil fuel companies pay for being the main cause of the climate emergency.
Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling, Start Paying campaign commissioned the strategic insight agency Opinium Research to survey 8,000 adults in eight countries—Australia, Argentina, France, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States—ahead of this month's United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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According to Greenpeace International:
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